Defender Carrie Hanks spent her first season at Maryland as a midfielder, so when field hockey coach Missy Meharg asked her to play forward in the final moments of Sunday’s 2-1 double-overtime win against No. 6 Penn State, it was a smooth transition for the senior.

Meharg approached the game’s second overtime period with ease, aware several Terps were versatile enough to switch positions.

So the veteran coach thought playing Hanks on the opposite end of the field included few risks in her team’s biggest game to date. Hanks provided the reward with a game-winning score, helping the Terps win their fourth consecutive game after a slow season start.

“Carrie is just ruthless,” Meharg said. “She’s on the [U.S. Women’s] Developmental Squad for a reason. She works at her game all the time. She’s brilliant in the classroom. It’s the way she takes her life on.”

[Read more: Maryland field hockey beats No. 6 Penn State in overtime for its second top-10 win]

The position shift came minutes into overtime because Meharg needed the Terps backline to focus on Nittany Lions midfielder Abby Myers. Myers hadn’t recorded a score entering Sunday’s matchup, but her strike in the 44th minute tied the game at one.

Because Myers capitalized on one scoring opportunity, Penn State coach Charlene Morett inserted her into the lineup for more weapons in the team’s attack.

As a result, Meharg reorganized her seven players on the field. Midfielder Lein Holsboer, Maryland’s leading scorer who has also anchored the backline at times, was responsible for keeping Myers off the board.

Early in the second overtime period, Holsboer gained possession and advanced the ball toward Maryland’s offensive zone. She connected with midfielder Madison Maguire while Hanks positioned herself on the left side of the circle.

Without realizing it, Hanks then deposited the ball into the net to secure Maryland’s second win against a top-10 opponent this season.

“She’s a great defensive leader,” Holsboer said. “She moved to the backfield and stepped up her game. … She’s very mature and experienced.”

That much was clear from the outset Sunday, as the Terps limited a Nittany Lions attack that entered averaging more than three goals per game.

[Read more: Maryland field hockey defender Bodil Keus named Big Ten Freshman of the Week]

The game-winning score was a familiar sequence for Hanks, who started every game during her first three seasons in College Park and has started all but one entering Tuesday’s contest against No. 4 Virginia. Hanks, a preseason Big Ten Player to Watch, has notable international experience and was named to the U-21 squad earlier this year.

As the second overtime period began, the Terps experienced flashbacks to their last-second, double-overtime loss to Michigan at the end of September. But Hanks, momentarily playing a different spot on the field, created a different outcome.

“There was this feeling of ‘We know we can do this,'” Hanks said. “We kept going at them. Our press was fantastic. We were connecting when we were moving up the field.”